


Happy Stupid Alien Birthday

by animalSaint, FreezingKaiju



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Almost Kiss, F/F, Happy Birthday Asuka Langley Soryu, Love Confessions, Movie Night, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animalSaint/pseuds/animalSaint, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreezingKaiju/pseuds/FreezingKaiju
Summary: while watching a terrible scifi film, rei ayanami comes to a rei-velation on what is technically the second child's date of birth
Relationships: Ayanami Rei/Souryuu Asuka Langley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 57





	Happy Stupid Alien Birthday

1:36 AM. December Fourth. Technically speaking, Asuka Langley Soryu’s birthday. Rei’s the one with the opportunity to watch the clock; Asuka remains engrossed in their sixth movie of the night. Bargain basement films Hikari Horaki had managed to discover; one of them was German, an art film that moved Asuka to tears (she insisted the subtitles didn’t do it justice), but the others a mix of American and Japanese ones. The American ones, so far, had been universally abysmal. Their current selection was a mess of hideous filters, absurd effects, and acting that even Rei could recognize as patently false.

Soryu burst into peals of laughter at that moment, and Rei turned back to the TV to see what she was pointing at. A puppeteered alien, roughly four inches tall and made of rubber, slaps itself onto a man’s neck, complete with spurts of what seem to be strawberry jelly. Rei has no clue how to respond, but her mouth twitches, and she makes a strange noise that nearly lines up with Soryu’s laugh.

It almost feels like just the two of them left in the world. Hikari’s there too of course, snoozing on the carpet, and the Major’s somewhere drinking, but...here and now, it’s them.

Soryu-- no,  _ Asuka _ points at the screen again. “He teleported! Look, that guy in the background, he just-- he did it again!” Rei doesn’t see, though; she sees the scanlines of the TV and its blue glow, from the side, though, as they illuminate Asuka’s face. Her freckles almost flicker in the light. Her smile is glorious, electric, angelic. The room is cold, yet Rei’s face feels warm, as she leans on her side and wonders how exactly one knows when and where they fall in love.

Her comforter shifts, and her hand pokes out, as if to test the air. Asuka’s hands are both in full view, and Rei makes the mortifying decision to lay hers down on one.

A shiver runs up Asuka’s spine. Her hand. Wonder Girl’s... holding? Caressing? Touching? None of those words are enough, in any of the four languages she speaks. Her hand’s on Asuka’s, and the movie fades away. 

Wonder Girl shuffles a little closer, free hand grabbing the blanket to scoot further across the floor. Her expression is something out of Asuka’s dreams. Gentle eyes, tousled hair, more than a hint of a smile. The adoration Asuka’s always longed for dances in those red eyes, settles on the corners of her mouth, arcs across the fingertips of her bandaid-dotted hand. 

Rei’s lips part, and Asuka opens her mouth in turn. She tries to say something; “Are you...” but the rest trails and fizzles out.

Rei knows that she cannot be direct. A compliment, perhaps, but oh there are too many. Instead, she settles on a question.

“Can I stay with you?”

It still feels like silence, the gap that draws between them, despite the noise from the movie, despite Hikari’s breathing, despite the slam of a door that tells Asuka that Misato’s home.

Then... she nods.

Silent, wordless, as Rei’s actions sink in and Asuka finds herself adrift in an unexpected sea. Her throat aches, too much to speak, although she tries, she  _ tries _ , because nobody stays, because nobody holds her, because nobody loves her in the end.

But maybe this is different. Asuka wants it to be different. She can trust Rei, to be different.

She scrunches up her eyes, manages a “Yeah”, and lifts her free hand to Rei’s cheek. 

It must be physical confirmation. Rei doesn’t know any other way to read the action. She responds in turn, lifts up an arm and lays it around Asuka’s bony shoulder.

Asuka crumples towards Rei, and presses their foreheads together. Rei pulls Asuka closer in turn.

The movie still plays on; Rei tunes back in, and Asuka does the same, laughing a little as she does. There is nothing left to be said between them now, just small and tender touches that speak volumes on their own.

Maybe Rei can just tell Asuka she loves her on another day, but for now, and as long as Asuka will have her, she will stay.

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by the fic "what does white noise become" by antiquescissors


End file.
